


Soldiers Don't Get Happy Endings

by heretosayhello



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29436477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretosayhello/pseuds/heretosayhello
Summary: Peace has always been fragile and elusive. When one war ends, another is on the verge of beginning. It’s becoming harder for Mikasa to protect the people important to her and somewhere along the line Levi has become one of those people. A plot against Paradis brings them closer together, and Mikasa considers who she's fighting to save, and who she is. She’s a soldier chasing peace for a chance at something more.Set after the Return to Shinganshina arc.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Levi
Comments: 54
Kudos: 134





	1. A Plan

**Author's Note:**

> I envisioned this being set after the Survey Corp take back Wall Maria, and they discover Dr. Yeager's journals in Shinganshina and just learned about their Eldian history. 
> 
> I would love to hear feedback on this story! Enjoy!

Mikasa had been sure that having military ball had been a bad idea. From the first time she heard about the proposal to have a formal celebration, she was less than enthusiastic about it. Then when she learned she would be a guest of honor she fiercely shook her head. The notion of having a ceremony to celebrate the turning of a new leaf for the Reiss monarchy and Ackerman clan in this new age of peace was sure to bring trouble like moths to a flame— a century old flame that was caused by violently different ideologies between the two groups in the first place.

When Historia, Queen Historia, Mikasa corrected herself mentally, approached her with this idea, Historia knew that she would be uncomfortable with it. 

“You’re not guilty of the First King’s crimes,” Mikasa had protested, “It was his doing, and began a hundred years before we were even born.” 

“But I want to end it,” Historia had countered, “Your family was persecuted, Mikasa. Dozens of families in your clan were snuffed out. For a lie. One that the Reiss family told. As the last living member, I want you to please let me take responsibility.”

Mikasa mulled over Historia’s reasoning, “Uri Reiss ceased the attack on the Ackermans for good. What’s important is that it’s over.”

“But he apologized only to Kenny Ackerman, and I want to formally honor the Ackermans now that our country knows it’s history.” 

The mention of Kenny had prompted Mikasa to ask, “It’s not just my family. Have you asked the captain?” 

Historia shook her head and reached out to gently grasp both of Mikasa’s hands with her own, “Not yet. I’m coming to you as a friend first.”

Mikasa let out a sigh and gave Historia’s hands a light squeeze, “Thank you. And as your friend, I want you to know that you don’t owe me anything. You have my forgiveness for what it’s worth.” After another moment, she continued, “I doubt it would be up to me anyway. What you’re suggesting sounds like it would take planning and leadership approval from Commander Hange and Captain Levi. I’ll leave it up to them.” 

“I could just tell them it’s happening and say ‘What are you going to do about it? I’m your Queen,’” Historia let out a chuckle, referring back to when Mikasa had encouraged her egg on the captain after she punched him, which was also due to Mikasa’s encouragement, following her coronation.

Mikasa gave her a rare smile, “Not sure they deserve it this time.” 

When she decided to leave it in Hange and Levi’s hands, Mikasa really thought they would’ve dismissed the idea immediately. She had thought Commander Hange would decline citing the inadvisability of calling multiple troops back from their positions and congregating in one conspicuous location. They had spent almost half a year rebuilding the Survey Corps and had only just begun sending out teams on missions again a few weeks ago. Mikasa had thought that calling everyone to Mitras would slow the momentum they had just started to build. 

With Captain Levi, Mikasa had thought he would flat out reject the idea before they could get past the word “formal” or “royal.” She certainly thought he wouldn’t have even entertained something as preposterous as being a guest of honor at a ball. 

But here they were, a day after her initial conversation with Historia, when an ear-piercingly loud cheer rang out through the dining hall among the Scouts at Commander Hange’s declaration of an upcoming military ball in four weeks to honor their very own Ackermans. Details of having shifts to patrol during the event, and raising morale and public opinion of the Survey Corps were lost in the clamor. Hange didn’t fight the tide of noise for very long, and let the soldiers celebrate. 

“I’m so excited!” Sasha squealed, right into Mikasa’s ear. 

Connie snickered, “Really? Never took you to be the type to be excited about playing dress up.” 

Sasha waved off his comment, “No, you idiot. Think of the food! They’ll have roast beef, suckling pig, and maple bacon.” She continued babble the names of various meats, and Mikasa was almost impressed by how many she can list. 

Mikasa scanned the room to see all her comrades buzzing about the news. Out of a sea of people, only she and Captain Levi seemed to remain impassive. As if he had anticipated it, his gaze caught hers right as she looked his way. They’re both less than thrilled at the news and Captain Levi lifted his tea cup just a little higher at her to salute their shared sentiment. Mikasa was surprised at the acknowledgement, and let one corner of her lip lift at this. Maybe he didn’t agree to the occasion after all given how sullen he looked now, but it’s not like he would show overt emotion over such a trivial event.

Before she can think more about it, Armin nudged her with his elbow and she turned back to the conversation before her. 

“Guest of honor, huh?” Armin said to her, “How are you feeling about that?”

Mikasa shrugged, “It feels weird. It’s not like I’ve done something to warrant being a guest of honor. I honestly preferred it if I weren’t. It’s only because I just happen to be a part of the Ackerman bloodline.”

She looked down. It was true that her father’s lineage was hunted to near-extinction after the monarchy had plotted against them. But it was also true that those circumstances drove him to live in seclusion by the edge of the walls, where he had met her mother. Mikasa couldn’t help but feel the situation was ironic that Historia was remorseful of this, when it ultimately led to her parent’s marriage and their relatively happy life in the mountains. Ironic still was that their tragic deaths weren’t even directly related to the monarchy’s plot against either of them. 

Eren shook her shoulder encouragingly, “Don’t say that! You deserve it; they owe you so much for what you did for the city last time you were there. You secured the Female Titan, and saved their city.”

She decided not to correct him, seeing how she was also part of the reason for Annie’s transformation into the Female Titan in the middle of Mitras, so she chuckled and offered Eren a small smile at his attempt to brighten her mood. 

Jean chimed in, “It’ll be fun! I bet you’ll get more perks as a guest of honor!”

Sasha looked as if she’s about to ask if those would be food-related perks, but Jean continued with a blush blooming across his cheeks, “Do guests of honor need to be escorted there?” 

Eren snorted, ruining Jean’s effort, “Maybe you could escort them by pulling the carriage, horse-face.” 

“Shut up!” Jean’s face deepened in color, “I don’t see anything being thrown in your honor for your useless Titan ass.” 

“At least they won’t mistake me for a barn animal when I arrive!”

“Your gigantic ego and big head wouldn’t even fit through the front door! And I’m not talking about your Titan form!”

“You’ll trample people with those hooves on the dancefloor! You could ask Captain Levi if you want to escort a guest of honor. No way would you be the one to take Mikasa.” 

“I wasn’t actually asking just now,” Jean was furiously red now. 

A cool voice announced itself from behind their table, “I decline, brat.”

“Captain Levi!” Jean saluted, caught off guard and embarrassed, “It was a joke, I mean—I didn’t mean it that way.” 

Mikasa hid her small smile behind her teacup, but the rest of the table openly held their sides howling in laughter. If just the news of this military ball, and incessantly teasing Jean at his expense, was enough to put her team in such a good mood, Mikasa felt guilty having wanted to deny them it.

Their captain raised an eyebrow and deadpans, “I’m offended. Am I not good enough?”

Jean looked like he’s praying to the Walls for the ground to open up from underneath him and swallow him whole like a 15m Titan. But Captain Levi put Jean out of his misery when he looked straight at Mikasa and Armin, “Alright enough. Ackerman, Arlet, with me.” 

The two soldiers looked at each other confused, but got up to follow closely behind their captain. They gave a backwards glance to their friends, signaling that they would catch up with the group later. Connie and Sasha have already teamed up to continue hassling Jean, and Eren quietly watched their retreat from the dining hall. 

Captain Levi led them out of the dining room into the cold hallway towards the Commander’s office and the jovial atmosphere dissipated faster than the warmth. Commander Hange was already waiting behind their desk when they entered the room. 

“At ease,” Hange nodded to them as they gave their salute, “My apologies for pulling you away from dinner.”

Hange gestured to the man leaning against the closed door behind them, “I asked Captain Levi to bring you here so we can discuss this military ball and the reason we agreed to it.” 

“So it’s not to celebrate the Ackermans or to boost our morale?” Armin stated more than asked. 

Ignoring the soft _tch_ Levi let out at that, Hange admitted, “You’re right. It’s not for any of the reasons that I said earlier to the Scouts. The reason we agreed to it is because we believe that we may have a new enemy and this is part of a plan to draw them out.” 

Surprise and alarm colored Mikasa and Armin’s faces, and a barrage of questions erupted from them all at once. 

“Who are they?”

“What do we know about them?”

“What is the plan?” 

“How does this event help us?” 

Commander Hange held up one hand, reminiscent of Erwin’s mannerisms, “I’ll get to that. Let me brief you on recent events first. As you know, we’ve only begun running missions again three months ago. So far they’ve only been routine surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but each team that has gone out has reported back strange things.”

“Strange things?” Mikasa echoed.

Hange nodded, “Some groups have reported the contents of their transport carts getting rearranged, other have seen figures in the tree tops that seem to disappear by the time our soldiers use their ODM gear to get there. One group reported that they almost came to blows before the strangers got away.” 

“We’re sure they’re not civilians?” Armin ventured.

“I’m sure of it,” Hange affirmed, “It’s with every single mission that has gone out, even the ones with veteran soldiers. It’s not a new troop’s paranoia that they’re being watched.” 

Mikasa furrowed her brows, “How do we know that they’re enemies? Do we know what they want? Maybe they’re not enemies if they haven’t attacked any of our squads.”

“Or they could be waiting for the right moment to attack,” Levi pushed off from against the door and walked up closer behind Mikasa, “No one who spies is doing it because they’re an ally.” 

Mikasa regarded Captain Levi’s logic with a nod. 

“It’s still a good question,” Hange said, “We need to assume that their intentions aren’t in our best interest for now. But you’re right in pointing out that it’s strange that they haven’t attacked any of our Scouts even once they’ve been discovered. It’s as if they’re watching or searching for something.” 

“Or someone,” Armin grasped. 

“Yes,” Hange sighed at this, and took off her glasses to rub her eyes with one hand. She returned them to her face that bore a tired expression, “Maybe they haven’t seen the person they’re looking for yet. And there’s only one team that hasn’t gone on a standard mission yet.” 

“Special Operations,” Levi grunted. 

“Precisely.” 

Mikasa’s thoughts went immediately to her adoptive brother in considering who in their team would be the most likely target of the spies, “Eren!”

“It’s likely,” Hange admitted, “But that’s where this plan comes in. If we succeed, we’ll be putting Eren in the safest place he could be and capture the two strangers to find out what they want.” 

Mikasa, to her credit, didn’t argue with Hange about Eren’s possible involvement but waited with rapt attention to hear Hange’s next words. Armin took note of this, half-surprised that she didn’t take more issue to any involvement on Eren’s part. He felt Captain Levi tense too and then fractionally relax recognizing Mikasa’s cooperative countenance. 

“This military ball that all the Scouts will attend will be sure to draw out our two strangers. If they’ve been watching, waiting and failing for the last three months, they’ll see this as their chance to find what—or who,” Hange added, “they’re looking for. During this time, we’ll have Eren in the castle surrounded by all military personnel and Queen Historia’s personal guards. We’ll have soldiers patrolling the event the entire time, and we’ll leak intelligence that there will be an important Special Operations briefing for a new mission somewhere in the castle.” 

“Of course, the meeting will be a trap,” Levi emphasized. 

Armin quickly put the pieces together, “So if their target is Eren, it’ll be nearly impossible for them to get to him during the event. They’ll be compelled to try to find him at the fake meeting, where we’ll be waiting to capture them.” 

“Correct, and if they’re not looking for Eren, I bet they’d still be interested in collecting intel on this Special Operations briefing since they’ve been following our other missions.” 

“Shouldn’t the strongest of us be protecting Eren?” Mikasa chewed the inside of her cheek. 

Armin considered this too, “And why isn’t Eren here to hear this?” 

“You want to tell them, Levi?” Hange swept her arm towards the two younger soldiers. 

Captain Levi looked straight at Mikasa, “As the guests of honor, we’ll have access to more of the castle and the opportunity to case any of the guests that are suspicious. It’ll be like we’re hiding in plain sight. We’ll be able to stay close to the queen and Eren, but also be able to walk around freely. When the time comes, we’ll make our way to the meeting room and apprehend the targets.” 

He then began to answer Armin’s previous question, but still addressed Mikasa, “You’re here because we need your trust and cooperation on this. For it to work, you can’t act like Eren’s fucking bodyguard all night. He’ll be surrounded by military officers, but we need to make it seem like there is no added security so our culprits think they might have a chance.”

Captain Levi continued pinning Mikasa with his stern gaze, “Armin is here because we need him to help us stress-test this plan to make sure we’ve considered all potential fail points. Eren is not here because it all rides on him acting normally during the event, and not blowing it for us even before we get there. He and the rest of the team will be briefed with specific details so they’re not totally in the dark. Eren will be required to stay in the main ballroom at all times, until the time of the meeting, in which he will be moved to a secure location. Armin be with him ensure that will be the case. Any questions?” 

The room was silent as they absorbed the information. Armin felt like his mind already whirling, thinking through different aspects of the plan. Mikasa, in contrast, looked strikingly calm. Her expression was fierce but not argumentative. 

“Okay,” Only then did she break her and Captain Levi’s staring contest to turn towards Hange to repeat, “Okay, I’m onboard with this plan.” 

Armin voiced his agreement, “I am too. I can help you plan, Commander Hange.” 

Hange’s gleeful exclamation was in sharp contrast to their previous solemnity just a moment ago, “Great! Let’s start now!” 

“We’ll start with the logistics of traveling to Mitras,” Hange unfurled the map on their desk like a whip. Half-way down to crouching over it, they looked up as if remembering the two other presences in the room, “Levi, Mikasa, you’re free to take your leave for now.” 

They didn’t hesitate to stride towards the door, recognizing Hange’s planning frenzy mode. It was a good thing Armin also enjoyed tactical planning. Captain Levi closed the door behind him and Mikasa, shutting them off in the deserted hallway. They walked in synchrony towards the sleeping quarters, now that dinner was long over.

“It goes without saying that you can’t tell your friends about this,” Captain Levi broke the silence. 

Mikasa gave him a look, “And yet, here you are saying it.”

“ _Tch_ —Don’t look so offended, I trust that you won’t.”

She was taken aback by his rather open admission, and her words came out more as a clarifying question than a statement, “You trust me.” 

Captain Levi looked a little weary at that, “I never said I didn’t.” 

When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I also trust that you won’t lose your head over attending an insipid ball. It’s a mission for us, not an opportunity to play princess.”

She knew he was saying it to toy with her, and not because he believed that she had any interest in that so she didn’t bother protesting. The Captain was in a relatively conversational mood, especially for him, and Mikasa warmed in the familiarity of their banter. It had been absent for months, and she had missed it. But after all, she was the one to have gone and ruined it. 

She responded flatly, “I’m actually expecting to be swept off my feet by my prince, and we’ll ride off into the sunset happily ever after.” 

He rolled his eyes in quiet humor, “He’d be hanging on for dear life with you taking the reins. Walls know, you’re not a princess. You’re a soldier, and soldiers don’t get those shitty happy endings.”

“I think that's a contradiction, Levi,” She knew she was pushing the boundary, but she had missed the easy conversation with him more than she cared to admit.

“It’s Captain,” he corrected her without any real conviction.

But Mikasa humored him by parroting back, “Alright, Captain.”

When the hallway branched off, separating the women's and men's quarters, Mikasa moved to bid Captain Levi goodnight with a small wave when she heard him say quietly, “It also goes without saying that you can’t ask someone to escort you, Mikasa. We’ll be working closely together and we can’t have any clingy brats fucking up our mission.” 

He missed the small smile on her face, since her back was to him as she walked down the hallway opposite to his. Mikasa didn’t respond until she was halfway into her room, “It’s _Ackerman_. And I wasn’t planning on it, Captain.”


	2. A Dance

Mikasa could hear the steady rumble of conversation hum through the walls, and it sounded like the celebration was already in swing below her. She wanted more than anything to be downstairs with her friends, a small plate of hors d'oeuvres in hand while she tried her best to stop Eren and Jean from bickering. Armin would be chatting with her about the history of the castle or the style of its architecture, and Sasha would be flagging down each server to add to her pile of hors d’oeuvres. The announcement of the guests of honor would just be a small interlude that she and her friends would stay politely quiet for as they waited for it to end and wouldn’t think about again as they indulged in champagne. But not tonight. 

Instead, four weeks of careful planning, training and traveling later, she stood alone in a grand, but empty sitting room. She was the first out of Queen Historia, Captain Levi, and herself to arrive. The order of events was for the Queen to be announced, and Historia would in turn give a speech about the Ackermans before announcing Mikasa and Captain Levi and they would descend down the stairs.

It was too quiet in this empty room, and too loud in the ballroom. Mikasa’s ears felt muffled from the sound gradient. She thought back to just a few hours ago when Sasha and their two roommates where fussing over her getting ready, and found that she missed their chaotic buzz of conversation. In order to fit all the soldiers who came from the Scouts and Garrison, they had had to bunk four soldiers together in a room so Mikasa shared a room with Sasha and two other girls. The Military Police had the luxury of remaining in their usual housing.

“Reminds me of our trainee days,” Sasha had smiled ruefully when they first got to their room. 

They had arrived three days in advance to the ball, and Mikasa and Captain Levi had spent every possible moment learning the grounds of the castle. They finally began sparring together again this past month because the captain had decided it was necessary to prepare for the mission. Once they arrived, they had spent hours combing through the halls of the castle. 

Mikasa decided to pass the time while she waited for Levi and Historia by mentally cataloging the hallways, potential hiding spots in the different rooms, and different patrol routes and scheduled shifts again. She was still lost in these thoughts when the door opened again.

“Ackerman,” Levi said finally after a long moment.

“We’re both ‘Ackerman.’ That’s the point of tonight,” Mikasa pointed out. 

“I could just call you ‘brat’” he retorted, drawing a small smile to her face. 

“I don’t know. I think ‘shorty’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you?” The vacuum of sound around them made it feel like they were far away from others, and it was making her feel brave. 

Maybe it was affecting him too. Levi didn’t take the bait, but instead told her, “You look nice.”

“Thank you,” Mikasa said, a little caught off guard by the compliment, “You clean up nicely yourself.” 

“Tch,” he sounded amused. Good, she had hoped he would appreciate her wording. 

And it’s true, he did look good. He was wearing a dark suit that contrasted his perfectly white and pristine cravat. Levi looked even more polished than usual, even with his impossibly high standard. Mikasa thought that he could be mistaken for aristocracy here in Mitras while looking like that, even though he would be disgusted at the very thought. More than how he looks was the way he carries himself, which no aristocrat could possibly match. It came from years of unrelenting drive and mission. Mikasa openly admired how composed he was now, and berated herself for the small knot in her stomach. 

Too soon and yet not soon enough, Queen Historia entered the room, accompanied by her personal guards. 

“Hello, Heichou. It’s good to see you again.” 

“I’m not your captain any longer, Queen Historia,” Levi pointed out as both he and Mikasa salute her. 

“All the same,” Historia replied before regarding Mikasa, “Mikasa, you look wonderful.” 

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Mikasa voiced her appreciation, her hand smoothing over the dress Historia had gifted her the first day they had arrived. Truth be told, Mikasa had been so busy, that she hadn’t even wondered whether or not it would fit until an hour ago. The first thing she had noticed about it was that it was red, almost the same color as her scarf. Knowing Historia, it wasn’t a coincidence. The long sleeves were fitted and the length ran to just barely brushing the floor. 

It was elegant, and most importantly mobile. Mikasa had tested it out earlier in her room, and was pleased that it wouldn’t restrict her movement during a fight. The skirt was also loose enough for her to buckle her ODM harness and a small dagger in its sheath in place underneath it. The leather straps around her thighs had felt strange on her bare skin, but now it offered the comfort of familiarity. 

“Are you ready?” Queen Historia asked the pair. 

They nodded, and Queen Historia walked through the doors to stand atop the grand staircase. Still hidden in the room, Mikasa and Captain Levi could hear the thunderous cheering and applause for their queen and then the beginnings of her speech. 

Mikasa wished again that she were an anonymous guest in the sea of faces that they would be in front of in just a few minutes. Earlier today, Eren had found her in her room to ask her again, “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk down with to you?” 

She felt a rush of appreciation that he had sought her out to check on her. Even though Eren could be obtuse and hotheaded, he always knew when she needed him. She had reassured him, “I’ll be walking down with the captain, and it’s alright. I just have to go down some stairs when Historia says it’s time, that’s all.” 

Now she wasn’t so sure of her words. Her thoughts scattered when Captain Levi strode next to her and placed her arm onto his. He muttered to her, “Don’t worry. It’s just a stupid party and everyone here has their heads so far up their asses they won’t even be able to see us anyways.” 

She almost laughed, but doesn’t get the chance to when Historia’s voice rang out, “With that, please welcome our dear guests of honor, Captain Levi Ackerman and Officer Mikasa Ackerman.”

Levi guided them out to the top of the staircase and Mikasa could feel the heat of the many bodies below them rise up. Hundreds of faces peered up towards them and from this height, they looked like baby Titans, mouths wide open, hungry and ready to devour their next meal. The applause and cheering were loud and Mikasa couldn’t distinguish any particular words in the din. If she had her scarf, she would’ve pulled it up to hide her face. If she had a choice, she would rather face off against a horde of Aberrants. 

Instead, Mikasa focused on the feeling of her arm against her captain’s, a physical tether. As he led them to start walking down the stairs, she felt his hand give hers a small squeeze. _Right. The mission._

Mikasa schooled her expression into that of a placid smile and made use of their vantage point, scanning the crowd as they slowly descended. _I would stay close to the periphery of the room if I might need to make a stealthy getaway,_ Mikasa reasoned and focused on those parts of the room, _Possibly close to one of the doors._

Levi maintained his ever-stoic look, was studying the faces of the audience before him, searching for any hint of hostility. Most of the guests had an open look of awe and Levi wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off of their faces. So fickle. Most of these people had been blissfully unaware of the crimes against the Ackerman bloodline, and some who were old enough might have known about it since it continued until the previous generation. And now, just because their queen told them to venerate the Ackermans, they would. 

As they neared the crowd, Levi could make out the expressions of two particular idiots waiting for them at the foot of the stairs. Eren was watching so intently that Levi is surprised he hasn’t bore holes into Mikasa. Next to him, Jean was steadily turning red, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He looked more like a fish than a horse at that moment, Levi forced himself not to roll his eyes. 

When they reached the last step, the party resumed, Ackermans no longer their main focus. Levi relinquished his hold on Mikasa’s arm as Eren bounded closer to them, “Mika!”

They only got a few moments with their teammates before dignitaries and aristocrats lined up to pay their respects to the guests of honor, and Mikasa’s genuine smile, reserved for close friends, slipped back under an aloof mask. They spent the next hour moving throughout the room, making conversation with attendees and fielding the crowd, all the while keeping Eren and Queen Historia visible in their proximity. 

To anyone watching, it would appear like the typical mindless chatter of the royal court, but Mikasa and Levi were both trying to eliminate suspects as they spoke with each guest. Neither gave the sign yet that they had been dubious of one of the guests nor had they received the signal from Hange that the patrols had picked up on anything suspicious. But the hair on the back of Mikasa’s neck remained standing, her instincts yelled at her that the people they were looking for were in the room. Levi similarly had to force himself to ignore the prickling sensation of being watched and not being able to confront them yet.

Just as Mikasa felt like she was at her wits end with keeping up her façade while talking with other guests, Levi pulled her gently by the wrist, “Dance with me.” 

Surprised, Mikasa allowed herself to be led by him, one of her hands in his, and the other coming to rest on his shoulder. He guided her with his leading hand, and kept the other on the small of her back. It would’ve been considered proper if the back of her dress didn’t swoop so low. Mikasa tried to ignore the heat of his hand searing into her exposed skin. 

“There are two people who have been following us for the past hour,” Levi mumbled into her ear. _Of course._ He was using the manufactured closeness between them so they can talk more freely.

Mikasa had seen them too. They had been in her periphery all night, as if trying their best to stay close but hidden. 

“I saw them. They’re edging towards the dance floor now,” Mikasa replied.

He turned her to the music, and she took the opportunity as she spun outward to take a probing look. Arms back around her partner, Mikasa reported back, “No obvious weapons on them and they haven’t tried approaching Eren or Historia. What should we do?”

“It’s almost time for us to stake out the meeting room. Follow my lead,” Levi instructed, “We’ll have to be quick about it.”

He guided her, still dancing to the music towards the edge of the dance floor, as if they were naturally taking their leave and just so happened to land in front of the two strangers. The song ended with a flourish, and Levi was quietly impressed by how well Mikasa was able to feint surprise when she nearly walked into the people standing closest to them. 

“I’m so sorry—pardon us,” Mikasa apologized, making to move around them. 

“Not at all. It’s an honor to meet the last Ackermans,” the woman with long dark hair greeted. 

Both Levi and Mikasa held back a grimace. It hadn’t been the bluntest thing said to them tonight, but it seemed like tact was few and far between. Their conversations had really gone one of two ways throughout the evening. Guests either asked to be regaled with their stories on the battlefield—"the bloodier the better!” they had exclaimed, or they congratulated them for having the Ackerman name restored, missing the actual point of this celebration.

Her companion then spoke up, as if picking up on the faux pas. While the woman was shorter than Levi, her companion was much taller with hair almost as bright as Armin’s, Mikasa noticed, with facial hair that felt too informal for the occasion. The two seemed like an odd match.

“We’ve heard so many stories about your feats on the battlefield.” 

“Is it true that you’re Humanity’s Strongest?” the woman pushed forward, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Mikasa responded to the girl’s question with their practiced and diplomatic answer that yes, they’re strong, but they’re strongest together with their Survey Corp team. Levi has both heard and bullshitted this answer so many times himself tonight. 

“But what does it feel like? How do you actually feel in the moment when you’re fighting?” she continued to implore. Her expression wasn’t dissimilar to Hange’s whenever she had been experimenting on Titans.

Mikasa looked at her strangely, and her companion turned to Levi to apologize, “Please excuse her she’s just really excited to meet you both. We’ve been hearing about your abilities for so long now.” 

The woman was saying something to Mikasa at the same time and Levi felt Mikasa stiffen next to him. She looked at a loss for words and didn’t react in time before the taller one put a hand on the woman’s arm and they bid the Ackermans a good evening.

“What did you make of that? They could just be strange, but honestly, we’ve met even weirder people tonight,” Mikasa assessed in a hushed tone, as they watched them depart, “It didn’t look like they were carrying weapons on them.”

Levi nodded, from his observation he didn’t see any weapons on them either. He moved closer to Mikasa, pretending to brush a lock of her hair behind her ear so he could discreetly respond, “He’s carrying something in his jacket pocket. It looks rectangular, but didn’t seem like weapon.” 

Despite herself, and her focus the mission, Mikasa flushed at his proximity again. It felt almost intimate, and the feeling was amplified at the awareness of so many people around them.

“It looked like a book,” she managed, fighting her blush, “Maybe he’s a Wallist?” 

Levi snorted, “He’s not dressed like a religious buffoon.” 

Mikasa considered, “Well, they’re not armed, and they took off in the opposite direction to Eren and Historia so I guess we can just mark them off as just enthusiastic.”

“Right,” he agreed, and gave a cursory glance to his pocket watch, “We should start to get going now.”

They rebuffed more attempts by other guests to engage them in conversation by excusing themselves to get refreshments as they made their way to the outskirts of the room. With the party picking up and more people getting inebriated, it’s easy for Levi and Mikasa to exit the ballroom without much notice. The patrol was just changing guards now, which meant that they would avoid bumping into them as they ventured deeper into the eastern wing of the castle. 

They walked together in silence until the sounds of the party faded away, when Levi remembered to ask her, “What did that woman say to you at the end there?”

Mikasa coughed slightly, surprised by his sudden question, “Oh, um. She commented on how strong our children were going to be, and if we were planning on starting to have them soon.”

She was grateful for the dark, so he wouldn’t see her face burn. She had worn altogether too much color tonight on her dress and her cheeks. And it hadn’t been the first-time people mistook their surname as an indication of marriage or thought they were a couple, despite Queen Historia’s introduction. 

“It’s okay,” Levi said, “A man said that I was smart to choose a taller wife so that my kids won’t be cursed with short genes.” 

Mikasa stifled her laughter.

They resumed walking in an amicable silence that was belied by the charged air. Mikasa told herself it was because they were nearing the crux of their mission. 

As they walked down the long hallway to the room that would stage their trap, they suddenly heard a set of footsteps from a little way behind them—footsteps that were approaching quickly. Mikasa and Levi looked at one another in alarm. They had planned a large margin of time between assuming their stakeout and when the alleged meeting was supposed to take place. Were their enemies moving even earlier than they expected? 

She listened intently and it registered to Mikasa that the incoming footsteps were of two people failing terribly at being stealthy. A heavier set of footsteps jogged unevenly and the lighter set of footsteps kept stumbling. As they grew nearer, faint giggling accompanied the messy footfalls. 

“Just two drunk idiots,” Levi said under his breath. 

“But we still can’t be seen, and they can’t stay around here,” Mikasa whispered back. 

“What do you suggest?” he sounded genuine in wanting to hear her ideas, when she had expected sarcasm.

Mikasa scanned the hallway and felt her stomach sink as she belatedly realized a flaw in their plan. They had chosen this particular meeting room mainly because it had several alcoves inside that were perfect for their planned ambush. But it was also strategically at the end of a long hallway of windows, which left nowhere for the culprits to hide if they did manage to fight their way out of the room. Right now, it also meant that short of jumping out one of the locked windows, Mikasa and Levi were the ones left with nowhere to hide with people approaching from behind them. They wouldn’t make it to the room now, even if they sprinted. 

Mikasa acted on the first idea that came to mind. She grabbed Levi and pulled both of them behind a floor length window curtain. Their figures caused the curtain to obviously protrude outward. 

He whispered furiously, “This won’t hide us.” 

Mikasa shushed him, and was thankful that he fell silent so she could listen for their approach. 

Levi urged her again, “Oi, they’ll clearly be able to see two people hiding behind here.” 

“That’s the point!” 

He looked baffled by this. But she didn’t elaborate on it because the two people had come around the corner. 

Levi was more focused on the two newcomers so he had little warning before Mikasa threw her arms around him and pressed herself into his body. She covered his mouth with her own to swallow the sound of surprise that he emitted. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she held their chaste kiss. He stood rigidly under her touch, and Mikasa was awkward against him. She let out an audible sigh against his lips, and Levi must have realized then that she was intentionally making their presence known. The charged air was practically electric as Levi relaxed and moved one hand to cradle the back of her head to pull her closer. She softened against him.

How many Survey Corp parties had Mikasa gone to, or more specifically tried to leave, only to feel embarrassed to come across couples who barely tried to keep their affairs hidden in shadowed corners. She was familiar with burning mortification of accidentally bearing witness to their rendezvouses, even if the couples didn't care, and the immense urgency to avert her eyes and leave the scene as quickly as she could.

But now when it was her in the darkened corner with Levi, her captain, whose tongue was running across the seam of her lips asking for access, Mikasa felt like she had judge them too harshly. She was still hyper aware of the two people walking closer, but her focus was split as she moved her hands from Levi’s neck to rake down his strong chest. More movement was good, it would make this scene more believable, Mikasa told herself. Levi responded in kind by repositioning his hand to grip her short hair, and ran his other hand down her side, tantalizingly light.

His kiss was almost bruising, in maddeningly sharp contrast to his touch, and it was the only thing keeping her from pushing more firmly against him. She returned the kiss in equal fervor, fighting back for dominance.

“Oh!” a giggle too girly to have originated from Mikasa rang out, “It looks like we’re not the only ones who had the same idea.” 

A deeper voice suggested, “Let’s try the powder room we passed earlier.” 

Another giggle consented. 

Mikasa bit back a small amount of disappointment that their interlopers couldn’t have walked a little more slowly. But what mattered was that her plan to drive them away while hiding themselves worked. 

The heat of their kiss cooled with the retreating footsteps and Levi was no longer devouring her in the way she found that she liked. Levi broke away first, and allowed his forehead to rest against hers for a moment before letting his arms drop to his sides and stepping away.

Mikasa’s stomach dropped like a stone. _What had she done?_ She realized that she had kissed her captain _and thoroughly enjoyed it,_ a small voice in the back of her mind added. Did she want to do it again? She roughly banished that thought from her mind. When she steadied herself enough to meet his eyes, he looked infuriatingly passive. 

“That was effective,” he sounded unaffected, but not disapproving. 

Mikasa hated how breathy she still sounded when she could only respond, “Thanks.” 

“There shouldn’t be any more situations where that’s necessary,” Levi stated, straightforwardly. 

Mikasa doesn’t trust her voice again, so she nodded jerkily. 

“Alright, let’s get going.” 

Mikasa was grateful to have the mission to divert her full attention to. She did her best to calm herself from their kiss, and tried to place the prickling distress to the back of her mind. There went any chance of her restoring their tentative friendship. Though, friends wasn’t the right word for what they were before. She decided she would worry about it later. 

When they finally got to the meeting room, Levi pulled out a key to unlock the door and they slip inside, leaving it unlocked. They lit the candles around the room, so the room was as bright as one would expect for a noteworthy meeting. They pulled out the weapons they had stashed in the closet, and quickly strapped on their harnesses, just in case. 

Mikasa noticed the captain watching her as she readied her gear, almost warily. She had spent the last few months trying to regain his confidence in her, only to throw away any progress she had made by literally throwing herself at him. 

“Ackerman,” he started.

“I’m ready, Captain,” she affirmed with conviction, cutting him off. She didn’t think she could stand the mortification if he mentioned their kiss right now.

Levi gave one brisk nod.

And with that, Mikasa and Levi assumed their positions.


	3. A Stakeout

They waited for what seemed like hours, which then stretched into actual hours. 

Mikasa’s body was stiff from crouching down, and her fingers numb from gripping her blades tightly. The wait had caused her to feel more wound up as it went on so when Levi stood up and moved into her line of vision suddenly, she felt her heart leap into her throat. She was surprised by his movement was all. 

“They’re not coming. They didn’t take the bait after all,” Levi’s voice was gruff from the long silence and tense waiting. 

Mikasa’s muscles protested before languishing in relief when she got up and stretched. She watched as Levi began putting away his blades and removing his gear.

“Should we wait a little longer?” She asked, even as she followed suit. 

“No. It’s been hours. If this had been a real meeting, we would’ve adjourned by now anyways. If they didn’t come to hide themselves away before it started, I doubted that they’d come later.” 

“Alright,” Mikasa removed her blades and placed them on a nearby table. Her hands went to unbuckle the harness around her torso, and the few attachments she managed to attach to her harness underneath her skirt. Mikasa had lamented the impracticality of fighting in a dress earlier when she had changed into it, so maybe she should be glad that she hadn’t needed to fight.

_Damn._ The release trigger of one of her finger grips caught on the lining of her skirt as she went to remove the wire connecting it to her harness. She wanted to avoid tearing a hole in her dress if she could since it was such a nice gift from Historia. 

Levi looked up to see her struggling against the bunched-up fabric of her dress when he finished putting his gear away, “What are you doing?” 

“Something is caught on my dress and I’d really like not to rip it,” Mikasa explained, growing more annoyed that she couldn’t seem to find where it had caught. As dexterous as she was, it was hard to twist down to gather the fabric at the back of her skirt. Her ministrations grew less delicate and more frustrated. 

He watched her struggle for another minute before crouching down at her side, “You’re taking forever, brat. Let me help.”

Mikasa hesitated for a moment, before gathering one side of her dress to her mid-thigh for him. With care, Levi traced the wire still attached to her harness to the finger grip that snagged against her dress. He wiggled the release trigger to free the delicate material from the steel weapon and proceeded to unbuckle it for her, with a gentleness that surprised Mikasa. She willed her body not to react. She felt like a live wire, sure to shock him if he touched her skin.

He stood up to hand her that remaining piece of maneuvering gear, and Mikasa thanked him as the hem of her dress swished back down to her feet. She turned away from him to stow away her equipment, grateful to put some distance between them as her heart hammered away. Mikasa thought she was more levelheaded now that a few hours and the focus of the mission had stood between them and their kiss, but having him so close to her and tensely waiting to feel if he would brush up against her bare skin, had thrown her off balance again. Was she disappointed he hadn’t? 

“What do we do now?” she asked, hoping to distract herself from her thoughts. 

“Now we go back to that insipid party to find Hange and tell them their shitty fucking plan didn’t work.” 

“At least we got to avoid other people for a while,” Mikasa offered as she smoothed the wrinkles on her dress that formed from crouching for so long. She frowned a little when she noticed Levi still looked immaculate, as if he had spent the last few hours ironing his suit and cravat. 

Levi let out an exhale that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, “Yeah, at least we got to do that.” 

They blew out the candles that had burned low during their stakeout before they stepped back into the hallway. It looked as undisturbed as it had been when they first got there. It was then that uneasiness and disappointment crept in. They had nothing to show for a month’s worth of planning, and their enemy was still out there. She knew that some missions didn’t pan out, and that she should be glad that this one was uneventful since there could’ve been an entire castle-full of people at risk. But it meant they still didn’t know what new danger they were facing. Mikasa felt a pang when she realized that she still needed to make sure Eren was okay. 

“What do you think went wrong with our plan?” Mikasa’s voice softly broke the silence.

Levi ran a hand through his hair, “Could’ve been a lot of things. Maybe the information we leaked didn’t reach the right ears. Maybe we overestimated their ability.” 

“Maybe,” she was skeptical.

Levi responded assuredly, “We’ll find them. We’ll get another opportunity.” 

_We._ It had been a while since they had worked so closely together, and Mikasa hadn’t been sure she would get the chance again. There hadn’t been a need for them to partner closely as they had when the Anti-Personnel Control Squad had been a threat. More recently, being highly skilled soldiers meant that they were overseeing the training of newer recruits as they built up the Scouting Legion again. 

And of course, there was her misstep that she was still making up for. She fervently hoped that she hadn’t ruined things again tonight. When they walked past the curtain that she had unceremoniously pulled them behind, Mikasa started, “About earlier—"

“You don’t need to apologize.”

That surprised her. Out of reflex, she pushed back, “Why not?”

“Are you sorry?” he watched her out of the corner of his eye. 

Mikasa didn’t answer. She met his sideways gaze to search his expression, but he gave nothing away so she opted to stay quiet. Perhaps in a way, her silence was its own unspoken admission. She just wasn’t sure of what. But she did feel some part of the tension ease in the air, and she went off of that as a good sign. 

Pretty soon, the smell of alcohol and numerous bodies grew stronger. Evidently the ball was just reaching its peak, and the guests of honors’ absences hadn’t gone unnoticed. The cloud of whispers that had followed them around earlier enveloped them again as soon as they reentered the room. Mikasa felt numerous eyes follow them, as they had before, and she self-consciously smoothed down her dress again, knowing it was useless. She dreaded having to put up with more tasteless conversations. Levi led them through the crowd steadily enough to be polite, but briskly enough that no one stop them to chat. Mikasa was thankful. 

“Hange’s over there,” Mikasa spotted their head through the crowd, and Levi set a new course. 

Mikasa looked around Hange and saw that Eren wasn’t there. She felt momentary panic, before realizing that Armin, Sasha, Connie and Jean were gone too. They must all still be together. Mikasa exhaled the breath she had been holding. Hange looked calm and was chatting with Commander Pixis, so it must mean that it had all gone without a hitch and her friends were still hanging around their assigned location. That shouldn’t be surprising given how uneventful her and Levi’s mission had been. 

“Eren and the others aren’t back yet. I can go get them and let them know they can come back,” Mikasa said to ask for her dismissal. 

“Alright, I’ll fill Hange in,” Levi assented, “I’ll see you in a bit.”

He looked like he was going to say something else, but evidently decided against it. She gave him a half-nod and slipped back into the crowd and out the other side of the ballroom. Eren and Armin were positioned in a room in the south wing of the castle that was closer to the main ballroom to ensure there was coverage from Queen Historia’s guards and the patrol groups. It wouldn’t take her long to get to them, and it gave her a few minutes to herself.

For the first time all night, she was alone with the luxury to let her thoughts run rampant. And they ran down the hallway, to the wing of the castle she had just come from and dove behind a heavy window drape. This thing with Levi was… new. Wasn’t it? Mikasa had never thought herself as attracted to her exacting captain before. Though they had a rocky start, she had come around to him and admired his leadership, following majority of his orders and improvising on just a select few. And once they started spending more time together, she even came to admit that she enjoyed his company during the late hours they would work on their respective paperwork together. But attraction?

Even as she thought this, Mikasa knew that his small brushes against her—even before their kiss—shouldn’t have affected her so much if she was oblivious to Levi. Before she tried to convince herself that the kiss was solely for their mission’s benefit, Mikasa admitted that she had enjoyed it. The way he crushed his lips to hers and worked his tongue against hers had a familiar intensity that set her aflame. But it had been his light touch that made her want to burst. 

Now that she was alone, she took a steadying breath and exhaled deeply to help that pressure in her chest deflate. Mikasa imagined all of her lingering indulgent thoughts expelled from her body with the air. Maybe she was confusing attraction with a heady mix of novelty and adrenaline. But like Captain Levi said, it wouldn’t happen again. It was pointless to dwell on it. 

Mikasa already made it to the southern wing and found that she was really looking forward to getting to salvage some time with her friends. She wanted nothing more than to kick off her shoes and sit in a circle with her friends as they drank and talked and laughed without a worry in the world. It would be a wonderful distraction from the other events of her night. Eren and Armin would greet her with an emphatic “Where have you been?!,” Sasha and Connie would pass her whatever bottle of booze they were drinking from, and Jean would enthusiastically gesture for them to make room for her to sit down next to him. 

Mikasa could practically hear their chatter when she opened the door to their room. 

Except it was empty.

“Wha-“ 

In the split second before her body moved reflexively, hot steam filled the air, aggressively blowing against her. Her eyes screwed shut in the heat, and her arms flew up to block the blast. 

_Titan steam?!_ She thought frantically. But the room was too small to fit a Titan, and she didn’t hear the low ceiling crumble from a transformation. 

Something grabbed one of her arms and wrenched her into the room, the door slamming behind her. Her arm was twisted painfully, almost out of its socket, but Mikasa threw her head backwards into her attacker and pulled herself free, tearing the sleeve of her dress. 

She quickly tested her shoulder and was gratified to find it wasn’t dislocated. She still couldn’t see through the steam, the best she could do was squint in the hot, opaque air, but she got into a battle stance. 

A fist caught the right side of Mikasa’s face, but she recovered instantaneously and sent a kick in the direction that it came from. Her foot connected with something solid and she felt her inertia transfer into that object, which let out a loud grunt of pain. 

So she was fighting humans. 

Something was moving behind her and Mikasa moved sideways in time to avoid a punch aimed at her middle. Hand to hand combat meant that her attackers hopefully didn’t have blades, probably because they were too conspicuous and difficult to hide, and they didn’t want to use guns that would be loud enough to draw attention. 

Her lack of sight heightened her other senses and she carefully listened for movement. Pivoting to her left, she charged forward to meet one of the attackers head on. She tackled them, and they fell to the ground hard, with a loud crack and their head bounced on the cobblestone. They went still, disoriented or briefly knocked out. It wouldn’t be too long until they were back up so Mikasa sprang up to take care of her other opponent. 

She quickly drew the small dagger she had strapped to her leg, but not even fully on her feet yet, Mikasa felt hands close around her throat. She dropped her knife as her hands flew to pull at the ones cutting off her airway. She was lifted off the ground by her throat. It was hard enough to breathe in the hot steam, but she would rather her throat burn from the boiling air than from the lack of it. It didn’t matter at this point if she could see in the steam, because she knew her vision would be speckled with white. 

Gritting her teeth, Mikasa tightened her hold around the hands strangling her, and steeled her core to pull herself up to kick her attacker in the abdomen. A yell of pain and surprise came and something clattered to the ground, and Mikasa was dropped as well. She coughed and heaved, trying to gain her bearings, trying desperately to feel for her dagger. She found it when it’s cool metal buried itself to her shoulder. 

Perhaps someone else would have cry out in anguish, but Mikasa could only react as her body knew how. She pulled it from her shoulder as quickly as she could and spun her torso around to slash through the steam. She was rewarded with the feeling of profound resistance against the dagger’s edge. It dragged across long enough that she was almost sure it was someone’s midsection. But before she could swipe again, a sharp blow to her head sent her sprawling on ground. The air had been so humid already, but something decidedly liquid dripped onto her cheek. 

Her vision that was swimming white just minutes before was washed black. 

* * *

Mikasa knew that blood flowed more freely from head wounds and tended to look worse than they actually were, but now that her wavering vision tried to focus on the floor pressed against her face, she wasn’t sure. For moment, she was nine again, laying cold on top of a wooden floor. 

_I’m so cold._

Her eyesight steadied and the wooden floor became stone. The raised cobblestones inadvertently created gravelly canals that led little rivers of red away from her and she couldn’t tell yet which red ribbons were from her body and which were of her dress. Mikasa was certain that no amount of scrubbing at these floors would revert the grout back to its light concrete after this. Not even if it were Levi scrubbing at it while on a cleaning high, filthily cursing every speck of dirt. This image brought up a small bubble of laughter in her chest and she hoped that she did stain the floor. Maybe he’ll find her mess and get worked up again because of her. She was good at that.

The room was much colder than before. Her body temperature was dropping from the blood loss, and her body barely had the energy to let out a shiver. When it did, the movement caused a sharp pain in her shoulder. _Oh that’s right._ The raven-haired girl wasn’t sure if the cold stone floor or her wounds were leeching away her warmth faster. She wished she had her scarf. Goosebumps covered her bare arm pressed into the floor. So much for her effort and Levi’s help to not rip her dress. 

Mikasa forced herself to focus harder. If she was starting to feel cold, it meant that the shock and adrenaline were just wearing off so she probably hadn’t been unconscious for very long. Seeing that she was alone now, it meant that the enemy was likely still close by, if not still inside the castle. 

_Fuck, Eren!_ Mikasa realized. He was still in danger. Her thoughts darted faster and clearer. _He was supposed to be in this room. Did they capture him? No, that doesn’t seem right. If they captured Eren, why would they wait around?_

She walked through the logic to the conclusion that Eren most likely wasn’t captured by the enemy, and another thought dawned on her. _The fact they were in here means that they knew to avoid our meeting room and to come here instead._

Only a handful of people knew the room Eren was supposed to be in, and other than Hange, they were all in Captain Levi’s Special Operations Squad. 

They had a traitor. 

Mikasa felt ill, unrelated to her injuries. But she found renewed strength in her realization, which drove her to slowly push herself to a seated position. Her head pounded, and she needed to wait for her vision to focus again. When it did, it zeroed in on her bloodied dagger a few feet away. She then recalled making solid contact with one of her ambushers with it, so it probably wasn’t just her blood spilled on the ground. She staggered to her feet and picked it up. 

Out of the corner of her eye, another object caught her attention. A slim box laid forgotten a corner of the room, where it must have been kicked to during the brawl. Her fingers shook when she picked it up. She had seen this before. It looked just like the case that had carried the syringe of Titan serum that saved Armin a year ago. 

Mikasa didn’t get the chance to open it to check its contents. The door crashed open and Mikasa whirled around, dagger at the ready. She caught sight of Captain Levi running in, armed with a knife much like her own, cold concentration etched on his face. Her sudden movement coupled with her head injury made her vision spin, but even as she fell, she felt relief run through her, “Levi.”

He dove forward to cushion her fall, and this time when Mikasa’s vision went black, it originated from Levi’s dark hair tickling her bloodstained cheeks. 

“Don’t worry, it’s not all mine,” Mikasa managed to say.

Right before unconsciousness claimed her, Mikasa could’ve sworn he called out her name.


	4. An Assessment

She was in the dark. There didn’t seem to be anything tangible around her, but every now and then, she felt a phantom touch graze across her cheeks, her back, her arms, her legs. Just enough to send powerful shivers through her body even though she felt warm, too warm, all over. _Funny, wasn’t she just cold?_ Her lips tingled too, and she felt the urge to press them forward to find the phantom. But of course, contact seemed just out of reach. 

Before she could try again, she heard the words that pulled at her through the pitch black until Mikasa recognized the darkness beneath her eyelids. 

“She’s moving!” 

“I think she’s waking up!” 

There was a hopeful squeeze around her hand, or at least Mikasa was pretty sure that was her hand since it felt dissociated from her body. It felt very different from the touches in her dream. She willed herself to give a reassuring squeeze back, but she was just starting to come to, and it didn’t feel like her nerves were fully online yet. 

“Mikasa?”

Another squeeze, and this time she was able to respond in kind. 

“Armin, she’s awake!”

Mikasa blinked awake to see urgent green eyes meeting her own. Just beyond her brother, Armin was also leaning in close. 

“Eren. Armin,” Mikasa’s groggy voice was seeped in relief, “You’re both okay! I was worried.”

Eren gently released her hand as Armin said seriously to her, “We’re glad you are okay. We were really worried. You were injured when Captain Levi found you.” 

His words sharpened her awareness. She sat up and assessed herself, finding her torso bound in bandages to keep her injured shoulder wound wrapped. Rolling her shoulder experimentally, she found that the pain was dulled. It was healing fast. Her fingers reached to the crown of her head, and found a still tender spot beneath her hair. She could’ve gotten off a lot worse. 

She noticed Levi, who was leaning back against the heavy metal door with his arms crossed, a relatively relaxed stance for him. Eren moved aside so Armin could hand her a glass of water. After wetting her throat, she looked back at Eren and Armin by her bedside, “What happened?” 

“We were hoping you would be able to tell us,” Armin confessed. He nodded his head towards their silent squad leader, “Captain Levi found you in the southern part of the castle. We know that you were attacked, but the room was empty when we got there. The patrol group in charge at the time didn’t see anything, and none of the guests reported a fight.” 

“And I didn’t pass anyone when I was searching for you,” Levi answered her next question before she even got to ask it.

Mikasa felt heavy disappointment. _So they got away._ Her brow furrowed, “Where were you? I thought that was the room you were both supposed to be waiting in.” 

“It was a last-minute change,” Eren told her. 

Lucky wasn’t the right word for it. Something felt deliberate about this, but at least it hadn’t been Eren or Armin who walked into their trap.

“I think they had an informant,” Mikasa said slowly and carefully. 

“What do you mean?” Eren was startled. 

Captain Levi’s eyes narrowed and he moved closer to the trio. Neither he nor Armin looked as surprised when she clarified, “I think they have someone helping them from within the Survey Corp. They knew the location of the room you were supposed to be in, Eren, and they knew that Captain Levi and I were waiting the other meeting room to capture them. There were only a few of us who knew about both.” 

Mikasa bit back a grimace as she watched Eren process her words. 

“’A few of us,’” he quoted back to her, “You think it’s someone on our team?” 

The captain stepped in before she could continue, “Hange is on their way. We should discuss this when they get here.”

They nodded hesitantly. Mikasa took this lapse to look at her surroundings. She was in a makeshift medical ward, in what seemed like the basement of the building. Not quite a dungeon, but the purpose of the room was definitely not usually to nurse someone to health or invite visiting guests to stay in overnight. The damp, chilled air and heavy reinforced door were evidence of that. 

“Where are we?” she asked. 

This shook Eren out of his thoughts and unhappiness colored his face, and Armin looked uncomfortable as well. Even Levi looked more annoyed than usual at her question. _What’s going on?_

“We’re still in the castle, in Mitras,” Armin skirted her question, “It’s better if Hange tells you more.” 

“How long was I out for?” 

“Just a few hours,” Eren told her, “You needed a good night’s rest anyway, Mika. Now I know what you’ve been so fixated on for the past month.” 

They shared a small smile at their role reversal. She was usually the one sitting at Eren’s bedside waiting for him to recover, and fretting over him once he woke up. Armin was usually there too, darting in and out of the room as he covered her responsibilities so she could keep Eren company. She could easily imagine Armin doing the same in this case.

The only thing different was the addition of Levi’s presence. Her eyes slid to him, still standing statuesque at the foot of her bed. She wondered if he had been in here for a while. His unchanged clothes and the accustomed air between him and her childhood friends told her he had. She didn’t think he looked uncomfortable.

“Captain, I should thank—” 

The door swiftly opened and closed, interrupting her. Commander Hange had come, hopefully with some answers to Mikasa’s many questions. Hange seemed happy but not surprised to see her awake. 

“I’m glad to see you’re up, Mikasa,” Hange said genuinely, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” She touched her head gingerly. 

Hange was pensive, “It seems that our gamble didn’t work out. I’m sorry you were injured because of it.” 

“I’m okay, really, and you were right in that they would come,” Mikasa pointed out. 

“Yes,” Hange acknowledged almost remorsefully, then continued, “I know you must have many questions, but first, please walk me through what happened to you.”

Mikasa recounted for them how she went to go find Eren after her and Captain Levi’s mission ended uneventfully, the steam that allowed her to be ambushed, her fight against two assailants, and waking up just before Levi found her. 

Hange sighed, “So we have several problems. The first is that we still don’t know what our enemies are after. But their attack on you proves that they are not our allies. The second is that one or both of them might be a Titan-shifter if the steam is any indication,” They paused, “And the third is that they likely have a spy in our ranks.” 

Their statement hung in the air for a long while. Mikasa wasn’t sure which she was more concerned with at the moment, the fact that they might be fighting more Titan-shifters, or that there was a mole this high up in the Survey Corp. 

Armin continued Hange’s train of thought, “Thinking back on it, it makes sense that they’ve had someone feeding them information. They seemed to know the schedule for every Survey Corp mission that went out the past few months.” 

“And they weren’t seen by any patrol guards, so they might’ve also known the shift schedule for last night too,” Mikasa supplied. 

It was unsettling for all of them. Even though the Survey Corp had grown in the last year, only long time, higher-ranking members had access to this level of information and the details to last night’s mission. Five of them were in the room right now.

That left Sasha, Connie and Jean. 

Mikasa’s chest squeezed painfully at the thought. They were her friends, her close friends. It seemed inconceivable that one of them would betray the Survey Corp. And yet, the evidence pointed otherwise.

Eren was shaking his head, “No, there has to be something else.” 

“There is,” Hange looked grim, “We’re not asking ourselves the other important question, which is why did they let Mikasa go?”

“What?” Mikasa hadn’t thought of that. Armin glanced at her, alarmed by the question as well. 

Levi elaborated plainly, “We might not know what they’re after, but we do know that they made the effort to conceal themselves and ambush whoever was going to enter that room. Why leave Mikasa alive? If she was the one they were looking for, they wouldn’t have just knocked her unconscious and left her behind. If she wasn’t the one they were looking for, then why not kill her before she had the chance to give away information on them? They had more than enough time too, and still get away.” 

“Heichou,” Eren started to protest. 

“Don’t be confused, Eren,” Hange soothed, “We’re glad Mikasa is here and safe now.”

A pit started forming in Mikasa’s stomach. It disturbed her that they might have intentionally let her go, which meant that they might have a greater plan that they could only guess at. 

“Mikasa, you were holding this box when Levi found you,” Hange produced the very case, “What do you remember about it?” 

She thought back, “It fell when I knocked one of them over. I found it in the corner of the room when I came to. It must’ve gotten kicked aside during the fight. I didn’t get a chance to look at it.” 

Armin was a little green looking at it, “What’s inside of it?”

Even as he asked, they all knew what to expect when Hange opened the case to show them. Syringes. 

“Empty syringes,” Hange clarified. 

Mikasa’s grey stormy eyes went wide. 

“As in, they’ve always been empty,” Hange reassured her and Mikasa unfurled her clenched fists a fraction under the blanket. 

“Are you sure?” Eren implored, instinctively moving closer to Mikasa.

“Yes,” Hange hesitated, “But the Military Police aren’t as convinced. They think you might know more about it than you’re letting on.”

The pit in Mikasa’s stomach solidified. She was incredulous, “Do they think I’m a Titan-shifter?” 

That explained the less than hospitable room she was in.

Levi dispelled that idea, “No, because even those shit-for-brains know that you would’ve had to transform into a Pure Titan first and then consume a shifter, and obviously there was no transformation.” 

“They think it’s suspicious that you were found alone in a room with empty Titan-serum syringes,” Hange gestured with the case, “with no one reporting a fight or seeing people fleeing. More likely, they think you’re working some conspiracy against them.” 

_They’re right. It is suspicious._ Mikasa thought grimly. She distantly heard Eren and Armin defending her, pointing out that she had been injured in the ordeal. “She’s the victim here! If Mikasa were working with them, why would they hurt her?” 

“You’re preaching to the choir,” Hange almost chuckled before lapsing back into seriousness, “I assure you we don’t suspect Mikasa of anything. I mention it because a meeting has been called with Darius Zackly. We need to prepared to speak to the other military branches.” 

“Do you think it was Marleyans?” Eren broached. They had only recently learned about humanity’s true past and their current enemies. The idea of Marley had felt like a threat on the horizon until now, but the stab wound in Mikasa’s shoulder felt very real and very present.

Hange’s lips formed a grim line, “It could be, but all we have to go off of right now is this the syringe case. We need to deal with our traitor so we can figure out what our stalkers want.”

“What do you need us to do?” Mikasa asked.

“It’s important that you do nothing for now,” Hange impressed on them, “We’ll go to this meeting and will let them know that we believe another party means us ill will. We will not mention that there’s a traitor in the Survey Corp, do you understand?”

Hange was met with three surprised faces, so they went on, “I believe that we can find their informant and use them to our advantage. To their knowledge, they have not been compromised by last night’s events. If we don’t spook them before we find out who it is, we can possibly leverage them to gain more information. So we have to act normally and we cannot bring it up in front of the Military Police and Garrison.”

Mikasa was the first to react, “Okay. When is the meeting with Premier Zackly?”

Hange looked sheepishly at Mikasa, “Now, unfortunately. He asked to meet as soon as you were awake.”

Mikasa nodded, and was about to throw back the covers to stand before she remembered her torn and slashed dress. Thankfully she spotted a change of clothes meant for her on the table in the corner. She said to her company, “I just need a minute. I’ll join you shortly.”

Eren sat back down on the bottom corner of her bed, “I know it’s a lot to take in Mika, but we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

Armin nodded his fervent agreement with Eren, and while Mikasa appreciated the sentiment, she explained, “I know, Eren. I meant that I just need a minute to get dressed.” 

“Oh,” Eren blinked. He sheepishly rubbed the back of the bed and muttered that he’d be waiting outside, before hastily walking out of the room. Armin let out a light laugh but was not far behind him.

Levi strode toward the door, and closed it on Eren’s affronted face and Armin’s curious one, “Don’t worry. I’ll be out in a minute too.”

Mikasa wasn’t wholly surprised. Levi walked back to the side of her bed and stood with his hands in his pockets. He watched her for a moment, and she steadily met his gaze, waiting for him to speak first. For some reason, she shivered involuntarily.

“You said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s not all mine,’” Levi began. 

Mikasa nodded, vaguely remembering that, “I meant all the blood.” 

“You wounded one of them?”

Another affirmative nod, “I’m pretty sure it was deep too.” 

“Good, you nearly scared the shit out of me, looking like a bloody ghost.”

She paused as a mental image of Levi scrubbing the floors in his cleaning outfit surfaced in her mind, “Are you sure you didn’t see anything in the corridor? They must have left some sign.” 

Levi sighed, “No. I went back and looked too. All that blood in the room, and not a drop of it in the hallways.” 

“So maybe they were able to heal themselves.” The implication hung in the air. 

He seemed to agree, speculating, “You probably injured them enough so that they were forced to concentrate on regenerating and escaping.”

His words made her feel slightly less inept. 

“Thank you, Levi…sir,” Mikasa hastily added, “For helping me.” 

“I wasn't much help,” his chin dipped, but held her gaze from underneath his dark fringe. 

Mikasa suddenly felt the need to start moving, but shifting beneath the sheet, she realized she didn’t have much on other than her scant bandages. She wasn’t bashful about her state of undress— her years of sharing barracks and washrooms with their fellow soldiers had stripped her of that and replaced it with practicality. But with just the two of them in the room, her exposure felt more pronounced and her skin felt strangely sensitive to the feel of the bedsheet against her. She fought against another shiver.

Before Levi could say anything else, she pointed to the clean folded uniform, “Would you mind passing me those?”

Levi glanced to where she was pointing and went to get them for her. She belatedly realized maybe it was inappropriate to ask her superior officer to pass her clothes, but he didn’t object. He picked up a ribbon of linen that laid on top of her uniform and scarf, and went to go move it to the side. It must have been Eren who brought her clothes, only he would’ve known to bring that. 

“Actually, I need that too,” Mikasa told him. 

He looked over his shoulder at her, but didn’t ask anything. He walked it over to her and set her uniform on the bed. Mikasa reached for the linen ribbon first and twirled it around her fingers. She was very conscious that Levi had most likely seen her family’s mark. Though only bandages and a bedsheet hid her nakedness, it was her uncovered wrist that made her feel really bare before him.

He kept his gaze on her face as she wrapped her wrist with care. 

“I couldn’t help but notice it last night,” Levi told her, still respectfully looking away from the mark, “It seems… personal.” 

Her grey eyes flitted up to meet his blue ones, letting him know it was alright. “It is. It has to do with my family— my mother’s family,” she corrected. 

The black ink of her tattoo, as dark as her hair, quickly disappeared underneath the white ribbon. 

“I don’t really talk about it,” Mikasa explained. 

His hair glided across his cheekbones when he shook his head, “You don’t need to.” 

Now two people have seen her tattoo. And just as she knew she could trust Eren, Mikasa felt the knowledge of its existence was safe with Levi too. 

“I’ll let you get dressed now,” Levi started to make his way out of the room. Mikasa caught just a glimpse of an irate expression on Eren’s face—he must’ve waited for them— before the door closed shut again. 

* * *

Even though Hange had given her a heads up as to the nature of this meeting, Mikasa still felt surprised. What had been touted as a typical military debriefing seemed to be a thinly veiled tribunal of sorts. It would’ve been in poor taste to have a trial against the Queen’s guest of honor and a victim of an attack the previous night, but this rode that line. 

The Garrison and Military Police officers were unhappy when Commander Hange explained their rationale for keeping last night’s mission just between the Scout’s elite team, but they kept silent when Commander-in-Chief Zackly assented to the logic. But when it her turn came to recount her attack, the immediate looks of mistrust didn’t go unnoticed by Mikasa. 

One brave Military Police representative gruffly protested when she finished, “You want us to believe that they just left you there?” 

Hange tried to dissipate the cloying suspicion in the air, “Officer Ackerman may have wounded them enough that they were not able to. Or it’s possible that they thought killing her might bring too much attention for them to escape.”

“How do we know she’s not working with them? We heard from Queen Historia last night just how strong the Ackermans are. She got off with mere scratches for an Ackerman, and she was holding the empty syringe case. She could be working with them and last night was a hand off.” 

It was a weak argument.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at the MP, but it was Levi who responded first, “Tch. Maybe if you had a real job instead of growing fat from sitting on your ass all day, you’d know to ask yourself why Officer Ackerman would do that. What would her incentive be? Also, we have confirmed several times now that the syringes never held Titan serum.”

“It could’ve had some other type of poison,” someone toward the back of the room called out.

Eren looked ready to erupt in anger, but Mikasa caught his eye and shook her head imperceptibly. It would only make it worse for the Scouts if he lost his temper in front of the other military branches. Even now, they were still wary of him. 

Levi continued to speak, sounding bored by the collective idiocy, “And if it did, where did all that poison go? Into Officer Ackerman? She would be dead. So I’ll repeat again, the syringes were empty. She defeneded against them and has now given us valuable intel on them.”

The MP officer glared back, “But can we trust her? She’s no stranger to subversion, even as a child. Wasn’t Officer Ackerman charged with insubordination just a few months ago? By you, in fact?”

Both Levi and Mikasa tensed. She had expected and prepared herself for someone to bring this up, but it still stung. With just its mention, the same rush of adrenaline pumping through her threated to drown out her hearing right now, as it nearly did in Shingashina. And with it came the familiar sense of guilt and regret that had trailed her for the months since.

Mikasa remembered the sense of panic when she realized Armin’s life hung in the balance. When she launched herself at Captain Levi, it had been out of reflex and she had expected him to fight back. Even though she had thought about the possibility of overpowering him, she was desperate to feel him fight against her. But he hadn’t, and she was immobilized by him anyways. 

When she had look down at Levi as he spoke to her calmly, the air had been knocked out of her. Mikasa couldn’t do any more than stay hovering above him, even for Armin, even as Levi didn’t fight back. It was a real testament to what it meant to have Ackerman genes. She recalled her body remaining rigid and disciplined over Captain Levi, her blade kissing his throat, even as her heart hammered frantically in her throat. All she could do was plead with him, and herself, because this was for _Armin_. She remembered the shameful guilt because _why couldn’t she move?_

What would she do to protect the ones she loved? Up until that point Mikasa had done whatever she needed to protect Eren and Armin. She joined the Survey Corp to keep them from sending themselves to an early grave. She was prepared to defend Eren from an entire squadron of Garrison soldiers when they first saw he was a shifter, and was hellbent on chasing after him when the Female Titan kidnapped him and slaughtered the Captain’s original team. Whenever she could, she killed so Armin wouldn’t have to. Whether it was his childhood bullies, Titans or his own self-doubts, Mikasa fought so Armin could keep his optimism and bright nature. She knew she was better suited to carrying out acts of a darker disposition and living with their consequences. 

Mikasa found out quickly after joining his team that Captain Levi was the same. He understood what it meant to shoulder burdens. He understood her implicitly and even gave her advice on how to let some of those burdens go. Was that why she couldn’t bring herself to move against him? 

Even after they all agreed that saving Armin was the right choice and Eren and the captain recovered, Mikasa didn’t know how to process her dissonance. She felt guilty because it seemed like she didn’t care enough, or maybe it was because she cared too much.

Hange’s voice broke her out of her revelry. 

“Officer Ackerman was charged with insubordination, but the sentence was reduced to 3 days given the contributions she made to protecting humanity, including during that battle to retake Wall Maria,” they said loudly for everyone to hear, “Both Captain Levi and I decided that filing that charge was more for formality than intended punishment. Mikasa Ackerman is a dedicated soldier and a great asset to Paradis.” 

Levi coolly added, speaking to the MP officers, “Officer Ackerman’s actions were ultimately in our best interest, and few would’ve had the balls to do what she did. Her career with the Survey Corp is the reason you’re still able to hide behind the walls playing soldier like toddlers in a shit-stained diaper. Her integrity isn’t the one you should be questioning.

Mikasa remained silent at the captain’s crude compliment, while Eren’s jaw dropped open a few centimeters. 

Darius Zackly cleared his throat, which was enough to regain control of the room. Was it judgment time? She hated thinking back and reliving Eren’s military tribunal, and knew that she would hate it even more now with a first-hand understanding of what it had been like for him. 

Mikasa locked onto Captain Levi’s side profile and could tell his jaw was clenched. She wondered if he was going to kick the crap out of her to show she wasn’t a threat, just like he had for Eren. Even without her trained eye, it wasn’t hard to see that he looked like he very much wanted to beat the shit out of something. 

Thankfully, Darius Zackley seemed fed up with the direction of conversation too, “Enough of this. We have no reason to distrust Officer Ackerman. In fact, the attack on Officer Ackerman may very well have put her in danger as a target for the future. Until we have more knowledge of these enemies, Captain Levi, I’m going to ask you to watch over the situation.”

Levi gave a brisk nod and vocal acknowledgement. It felt like more déjà vu than humiliation that one of them was being entrusted to Levi’s supervision again. 

“Now, if you all recall, we’re actually here to discuss how this enemy was able to infiltrate a highly secured event,” Zackley presided over the room once again. 

Mikasa let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She was too relieved to notice the set of curious eyes flitting between her and Captain Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry I’ve been sitting on this chapter for a few days longer than I thought I would! It took me a while before I was happy with this interpretation of how Mikasa might have felt after the events to saved Armin. What do you think? 
> 
> And also, because I've been distracted reading and re-reading (and re-reading some more) chapter 138 - my soul hurts.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you like it and that's it's not too boring! More Levi/Mikasa moments to come in the next chapter.


End file.
